


Between the Lines

by nerav



Category: THE iDOLM@STER, THE iDOLM@STER: SideM
Genre: Birthday, Fluff, M/M, Romance, Unresolved Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-31
Updated: 2018-07-31
Packaged: 2019-06-19 09:40:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,454
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15507384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nerav/pseuds/nerav
Summary: Pierre learns a new word, and in turn, a new perspective on what love means. (Written for Pierre's birthday)





	Between the Lines

Though Pierre was a prince—not to mention, a well-renowned idol—the truth was, he still couldn’t read. He wasn’t illiterate in a sense of having a poor education; in fact, he could easily read off a novel back home, that even his brothers weren’t able to accomplish. But while staying in Japan, he felt like he was a baby all over again, struggling to learn the very basics to make a living.

Over time, he grew more and more comfortable with speaking Japanese. Even if his speech was clumsy and awkward, feeling straight from a dictionary, he could still hold comprehensible conversations with his peers. But reading it was a far more daunting task, given the thousands of symbols and characters with numerous meanings.

Thankfully, he had Minori by his side. Every other Sunday evening, during their off hours, Minori would dedicate all his free time into helping him read Japanese better. Pierre was so grateful for his patience in answering his most-likely dumb questions without batting an eye, as well as his willingness to take things slow and repetitively. According to Minori, he explained his over-generosity as simply ‘learning along with him’. (Pierre didn’t know what he meant by that, but he was glad to not feel alone regardless.)

That evening, Pierre was trying to read a children’s book. At that point, he had enough knowledge to read the title, author, and most of its contents with ease, though only after a whole minute or two reflecting. Minori watched him from the side, sitting lax against the chair, nodding with each word Pierre stuttered out.

Eventually, he reached a roadblock with one unfamiliar word. His mind drew a complete blank as he pondered its meaning. He recognized the characters separately, but together? He just didn’t know.

Giving up, he pointed straight at it. “Hey, Minori… what does this mean?”

Minori took a quick glance at where he pointed. “Ah,” Minori murmured, scratching his chin. “That one is a little hard to explain…愛してる... It basically means, ‘I love you’.”

“Oh!” Pierre exclaimed, raising his fists in the air in excitement. A light-bulb clicked in his brain. “I think, I understand… Love, love… ‘ _I love you’,_ konamono!”

Minori shook his head. “Cute, but not quite.”

“Oh… that is not right?”

“It’s not a thing you love, when you use that word. It’s for a person special to you, and you’re sharing that feeling with them.”

“Then,” he blinked, “‘ _I love you’_ … love…” He widened his eyes. “Ah, Kaerre!”

“Almost,” he giggled. “When you say _‘I love you’, it_ means more than really liking something.”

“I don’t understand….”

Minori closed his eyes as he reflected wistfully. “When you use that word, you are basically saying that love that person’s entire being, with all of your heart, as if they’re the most important person in the whole world to you.”

“Loving someone’s entire being,” Pierre repeated in awe. His mind struggled to wrack an appropriate context. He thought over the many people he came into his life: his family, his bodyguards, his unitmates—

“Oh! I know! I think, I have someone I care for, in that way….”

Suddenly, Minori’s calm disposition melted from his face. He frowned. “Is that so,” he mumbled, his usually warm eyes turning icily. “And who is that person…? Do I know them?”

“Minori! And Kyoji too!”

“Oh,” the Minori he knew and loved came back at last. His smile was picturesque, that Pierre almost forgot about the other persona behind that pretty face. He gently patted his head. “That’s who you meant…. That’s very sweet of you, Pierre.”

Pierre beamed. He felt accomplished in finally getting it right. Just from thinking over how much Minori and Kyoji meant to him, he felt his heart ten times warmer.

Minori let out a soft chuckle as he returned back to the book, flipping to the next page. Before he could address the next paragraph, suddenly, another thought crossed Pierre’s mind.

“Hey, Minori… is there a person you love?”

Minori was taken aback, stunned speechless. For a moment, Pierre thought he said something wrong. He was almost ready to apologize, to bring back Minori’s smile, until Minori did it on his own.

“Ah... I suppose it’s just the same as you, Pierre. I love both you and Kyoji so dearly.”

“That is good! I feel very happy! That means, Kyoji must feel the same too.”

Minori‘s eyes tinted with a melancholy look.

“I hope so,” he whispered.

 

* * *

 

Christmas season was one of Pierre’s favorite things about Japan. In his country, holidays only revolved around boring meetings with officials, where he mostly just sat at a fancy chair and did nothing while his brothers did most of the talking.

But here in Japan, there was an extraordinary magical feeling during their holiday seasons. The streets were flooded with all sorts of colorful decorations; the music was very catchy that even Pierre started humming afterwards; and he even enjoyed the fried chicken meat that seemed customary for some odd reason.

But most of all, it was the time where people’s faces smiled the happiest. Especially when it came to gift-giving. Even though he was content spreading love and joy through song and dance, sometimes, the littlest things meant so much to people too. If a simple balloon handed to a child while he was dressed in his Froggy suit brought wide grins and rosy cheeks, then surely something more would make a greater effect.

Pierre was so excited for Chrismas that he had already prepared his gifts for his unitmates. Kyoji, however, didn’t. So Pierre decided to tag along him when he went out for last minute gift shopping.

The streets were overly crowded and they were forced to wade through huge Christmas decorations, as well as dozens of hurried shoppers. Every so often, Kyoji paused to squint his eyes at the window. Most of the time, he would then immediately brush it off and went to the next shop.

On some occasions, however, when his face brightened and he moved to enter the store, suddenly he froze his feet as soon as his eyes caught sight of the store-front poster. As Pierre couldn’t read, he had no idea what it said. But for some reason, Kyoji grew pale, tightening his knuckles and crumbling his lower lips. Without saying anything, he darted away from the store and resumed their search. Whatever it was must have been bad, and Pierre felt it was best that they did avoid that store.

It felt like hours with no luck. Even Pierre’s bodyguards signaled with each other on how late it was. Pierre himself felt sleepy and tired, having spent so much energy jumping up and down over every new discovery he came across.

“Kyoji,” he said, tilting his head toward Kyoji. “What are we looking for?”

Kyoji looked just as fatigued as well; Pierre noticed the dark circles under his eyes. He scratched the back of his head. “I don’t know,” he admitted after some hesitation. “I’m just… looking anything that would suit Minori- _san_ , really.”

“I see, I understand. Minori needs something special. I wonder… I wonder about the things Minori likes.”

“Well,” he looked up as he contemplated, “I suppose… He has a lot of interest in flowers, for one thing. He doesn’t seem to have a particular favorite though. He just loves anything related to flowers.”

“I see….”

“Also, I know he likes checking out the latest releases of hand cream. I know he even asks tips from Shoma- _san_ on what brands work best to prevent wrinkles. And… I guess he likes polishing up that motorcycle of his. He always said that he’d like a cute decal to show off his love for idols." He blinked. "Oh right. That reminds me… Minori- _san_ really was talking about those tickets for that show—”

Pierre listened attentively. Though Kyoji was merely listing off everything from the top of his head, leaving Pierre confused and curious of the context of his suggestions, he always liked hearing more about Minori. He was surprised how much he didn’t know about him, and by how much Kyoji actually did.

The further Kyoji went on, the more his crossed face transformed. Soon, he was smiling warmly, so genuinely, in that special way he always does when a camera wasn’t hovering over him. Its rare presence left Pierre astonished.

“That!” he exclaimed, pointing at Kyoji, who was startled into silence.

“Huh?”

Pierre balled his hands into fists. “That! That is, Minori’s perfect gift! Your smile, it is very good for Minori! He loves it very much!”

Kyoji blinked for a few seconds. Once his words seemed to have sunk in, his smile returned. He patted Pierre on the head. “You’re right,” he murmured. “Thank you, Pierre.”

Pierre mirrored his expression. Minori truly brought the happiest of smiles to the both of them.

 

* * *

 

On Christmas day, all the idols joined in celebration at the producer’s office. Some of them were drinking those kinds of drinks Minori told him to never try; others were engaged in lengthy conversation. A few exceptions, like the sleeping Kei beside him, were doing their own thing.

Once everyone settled comfortably, they exchanged gifts amongst their unitmates, and a few special friends from outside their units. Beit was the third to exchange; following after Jupiter.

Pierre felt immense joy over his. Minori had given him a new set of clothes for his Kaerre doll, with very fine material that must have been custom-made. Kyoji’s gift was a new camera, which was perfect after Pierre accidentally dropped his last one during their last trip.

Kyoji, however, didn’t share his sentiments when he exchanged his gift with Minori. He could barely look him in the eye as he placed the small box in his delicate hands. He kept his gaze downcast as Minori eagerly ripped through the wrapping paper.

It was a big container with a very cute flowery print over its cover. Pierre couldn’t read the labels, but whatever it said made Minori clasp his hands in delight.

“I’m sorry, Minori- _san_ ,” Kyoji said immediately, frowning. “I don’t know if that was a brand you even like. I didn’t ask, because it would have been obvious what to get you. I made sure it was skin-revitalizing at least. But if you don’t like it, I can—“

“Of course I like it!” Minori beamed. “I was always eyeing this cream for some time now. I’m glad you remembered me talking about it before.”

“Y-Yeah.”

“And it means so much more that you took the time to get it for me.”

Kyoji’s lips curled. “I’m glad.”

He didn’t forget the gift Pierre promised him. Kyoji’s smile resonated with Minori instantly, drawing their eyes to lock, so much that Minori barely paid any attention to the cream itself. Though the gift itself was nice, just seeing that face left Minori equally gleeful.

Pierre felt good to be right!

Just then, Shouta quietly approached them. He was carrying a stick with two green twigs hanging from the top. Without drawing attention to himself, he raised it over the adult duo’s heads and snickered.

“Mistletoe! Mistletoe! Okay guys, it’s time to kiss!”

Kyoji and Minori both looked up, then directly at each other once more, this time stunned and with flushed faces. The mistletoe must have had some magical power, for neither of them uttered a word and merely watched each other breathlessly, as if they were under some kind of enchantment. Kyoji seemed to be trying to break the spell and fidgeted awkwardly in place.

“Shouta!” he heard Touma shout from across the room. “Stop being a brat and get back here!”

“Touma- _kun_ ’s just jealous,” Shouta said in sing-song fashion.

Touma growled. Thankfully, Shouta still relented and pulled away from the trio, merrily skipping back to join his unitmates.

Now that the mistletoe stopped its spell, Kyoji and Minori finally tore their eyes away from each other. Their cheeks were still burned crimson, even when they distracted themselves with their own gifts.

Pierre was just left wondering why they just didn’t kiss. They kissed Pierre on his head and his cheek without any hesitation. What was wrong with sharing that love with each other?

 

* * *

 

Festivals were equally fun, as Pierre found out. Just like Christmas, at night, the streets were packed with hundreds of lanterns and banners. Unlike that holiday, however, it was the time for games. Pierre rarely had time to play games back home; here, he was free to participate in any fantasy he wanted to experience, for as long as he could last.

It was also a good opportunity to work on his Japanese. He was able to (politely) ask to scoop up a goldfish and keep it. He got the exact mask he wanted to buy without issue, and he was mostly able to roam through the stalls without his bodyguards constantly beside him.

There was a toss game that fascinated him. He already had a decent aim when he pitched with Tsubasa earlier, so he felt confident in winning the prize.

“May I please play?” he said, making sure to work that same charm he had when performing.

The vendor gave him a hard glance before looking away. “Scram off,” he growled. “I don’t need no foreign cash.”

“Oh,” the tone of his voice deflated all his passion. Still, he didn’t want to give up. “I do not have my money from home. I have yen.”

“I said, go away. You can’t even form a decent sentence, you—” He finished his sentence with an unfamiliar word, spoken harshly and bitterly in emphasis.

Pierre’s face was downcast. He blamed himself. He must have said something bad to make him angry, or perhaps his Japanese meant something else than intended. He was ready to apologize and leave, until he felt someone grab his shoulder.

Curiously, he looked up and saw Minori. Minori wasn’t facing him, however; instead, he glared at the shopkeeper. The icy look he had a few days ago reappeared with a vengeance.

“Excuse me,” Minori said, keeping his words still polite and light, but firm. “I don’t think you heard him clearly. My little friend wishes to play.”

“I don’t care,” the vendor said, furrowing his eyebrows. “If you think I’m gonna cater to a Westerner, then you can—“

“I. Said. Let. Him. **Play**.”

Pierre could sense an aura radiating from Minori—and not the good, benevolent kind he always had. His grip on Pierre tightened with each syllable.

Surprisingly, the vendor felt it too. He was nearly taken aback by Minori and started to sweat.

“A-Ah, well, of course!” he stammered out, facing away from Minori’s scary face. “Any customer is a good customer!”

“Thank you,” Minori said, smiling serenely once more.

“Yahoo!” Pierre cheered. Though he didn’t know how Minori was able to convince him, he didn’t care. His mind was immediately distracted with the prospects of playing.

“Good job, Minori- _san_ ,” Kyoji said, finally joining them.

Minori gave a sheepish look. He rubbed the back of his head and laughed awkwardly. “Oh dear. I’m sorry you had to see that! I must have been quite scary-looking!”

“You don’t look scary at all, Minori,” Pierre said. “You were very, very, very cool!”

“That’s all the cream’s work.”

“He’s right,” Kyoji said, nodding. “You were amazing, stepping in for Pierre like that. I wish I could have that same amount of courage.”

“Still, I don’t like to stretch my face like that… It ruins all my best features!”

“No, you….” Kyoji suddenly lowered his volume, eyeing down. His cheeks had a shade of pink. “You always look… incredible, Minori- _san_. No matter what you do.”

Minori lowered his hand slowly. They kept their silence for a while.

Pierre eventually pulled his attention away from them and focused on the game. After a few rounds, he merrily walked away from the stall with a handful of prizes, leaving behind a frazzled vendor.

 

* * *

 

The excitement went on for hours. It felt like Pierre trotted every inch of the floor-space with his tiny feet. He went back and forth, unable to decide on any particular pattern in what he wanted to do. Eventually, once the lights grew brighter and music played, Pierre left the others’ side and watched from close-up. His eyes shimmered in enthrallment over every little display.

It was pitch dark when the festivities lulled into almost silence. He had been standing for hours watching the performance that only now did he notice his uncomfortably full bladder. He went to the closest restroom, which had a line of a few people. Once he finished his business, he went back to look for Kyoji and Minori.

He wandered around aimlessly, hoping to catch any sight of him. He felt his feet floating on his own and paid little heed of his surroundings. But no matter how hard he squinted his eyes, he couldn’t discern them through the darkness.

He thought, perhaps, he should at least find his bodyguards who could lead him to the right direction. Unfortunately, he couldn’t locate them either.

Pierre felt his heart sink. He tried to calm his fears so he wouldn’t panic. There was no need to be sad, when he was positive they would come looking for him any second.

It was then when he noticed that even _he_ didn’t know where he was. His eyes were so focused amongst the crowds that he didn’t realize how far off track he was. He didn’t even realize that he had left the festival entirely.

He was in the middle of nowhere. Any strollers followed had dispersed and moved away already, leaving him helpless. He didn’t even have his cell phone, not having the room for it in his yukata.

Still, his optimism didn’t waver. He looked around for any clue on what to do. He widened his eyes when he saw the pay phone nearby. He rushed to it and inserted his yen, picking up the phone and pressing it against his cold skin.

Everything was okay. All he had to do was call Minori. Or Kyoji. It didn’t matter which one, but he figured to call Minori first, for the sole fact that Minori was the oldest, and therefore, must be the wisest of the two. He hovered his finger over the keypad, readied to press them.

But he froze.

He felt his pupils dilating. His finger quivered.

Just… what was Minori’s number?

Or Kyoji’s, for that matter?

Pierre struggled to think, but his head hurt the longer he contemplated. He didn’t even know where to start. He couldn’t remember the area codes, much less the rest of either Kyoji or Minori’s numbers. Japanese phone numbers were just _too_ long to memorize off the top of his head!

And even if he were to magically enter the right phone numbers, what would he be able to say? Japanese was already difficult to speak; reading them was much worse. Hiragana was the most he could process—albeit very slowly—but when kanji was thrown in the loop, he was dumbfounded. The only clue he could give about his location was nearby landmarks, but they were all too vague hints that could describe just about _anywhere_.

The more he reflected on his helplessness, the more his heart ached and his eyes watered. The happiness in his smile slipped every second.

He wanted nothing more than to feel Minori’s arms wrapped around him, telling him that he would be okay. He yearned to see Kyoji pat his head and seeing that rejuvenating smile plastered on his face. Any of them would have been enough to cheer him up. The mere idea that he may never be with them ever again hurt too much.

But, as Pierre realized to his utter dismay, he couldn’t and shouldn’t always expect them to save him. He was too comfortably accustomed to having Minori and Kyoji by his side, giving him their unwavering support without any objections. It was no different than how he was back at his kingdom, protected in a gilded cage surrounded by bodyguards. That sheltered lifestyle merely transferred to his unitmates when he came to Japan.

In doing so, however, he never considered his own self-sufficiency. He never knew how to make a phone call on his own, or prepare himself with an address book or map. He didn’t even know the address of his home. He had no right to wear his crown with pride.

Tears trickled down his cheeks. He tried to rub them off, but doing so only let them flowed harder. He crumbled to the floor and sobbed over his knees. He cried, letting go of all the sadness bubbling in his heart that he was too afraid of revealing in front of his friends.

“Pierre!”

He blinked back his tears. The voice was familiar, but so faint, that he half-wondered if he merely imagined it.

“Pierre!”

This time, it was louder, and deeper. It sounded so different from the other voice, and yet, that too was familiar. He couldn’t have been mistaken this time.

A surge of hope coursed through Pierre, drying away his tears and beating his heart rapidly. He raised his head and looked ahead. He widened his eyes and slowly gaped.

It was Minori. Minori sped around the corner, coming from the nearby alleyway. The bright red of his motorcycle jacket made his figure pop out amongst the shades of darkness.

And it was also Kyoji. Kyoji was in the direct opposite direction of Minori, racing from the nearby park.

Their eyes were so focused on Pierre, they didn’t seem to notice the other. Even when their paths intersected, they kept themselves undistracted as they ran toward Pierre.

It was only when they extended their hands toward that they finally acknowledged their presence. Just before they made contact with Pierre, theirs hand brushed against each other, startling them momentarily. They looked at the other in astonishment, letting out a small silent gasp. The awkward tension was swiftly disrupted as they remembered their whole point of coming here.

“Thank goodness you’re alright!” Minori exclaimed. Just as Pierre hoped for, Minori pulled him into a tight embrace, hugging him as if his life depended on it. It was so comforting that Pierre almost wanted to cry again; though this time, it would be through tears of joy.

“I’m glad you’re safe,” Kyoji said.

“I was scared,” Pierre choked. “I was very scared!”

Minori shushed, closing his eyes and stroking his hair. “It’s okay… We’re here now.”

“Minori, Kyoji… I miss you, very much. I was scared, thinking never to see you again.”

“There’s no need to worry anymore,” Kyoji said. “We’ll never split like that again.”

“Yes,” Minori locked eyes with Kyoji, “never again. After all, we are family….”

“Family….” Pierre finally pulled back a little and looked at Minori. “Do you really mean, family?”

“Of course. We all care so deeply for each other, including you.”

“Then… is this feeling, _‘I love you’_ … is with me and Kyoji?”

The two blushed again.

Kyoji was the most flabbergasted. “T-That’s a bit too strong, I think… I think you meant a different word.”

“Is that not true?”

“Well, definitely not with you, in that context. You’re too young for that kind of love.”

“Then, what about Kyoji?”

“I….”

“Yes,” Minori said. He placed a hand over Kyoji. “It is very true. Pierre is using that right word: it’s for someone so important and dear, that they’d cherish forever.”

Kyoji widened his eyes. “Minori- _san_ ,” he breathed out.

“So then, we are a family!” Pierre hugged Minori back, his cheeks burning in pure bless. “I will work harder for them! I must be able to do things, on my own, to make Minori and Kyoji happy too!”

“Let’s start by learning how to use a smartphone properly,” Minori teased.

“We’ll learn,” Kyoji murmured, returning back the same gesture to Minori. “Together, this time.”

“Yahoo!”

 

* * *

 

Pierre received a letter from his mother, indicated by the family seal on the back of the envelope. Since he was staying in Japan, he never heard word from the rest of his family. Immediately, he feared that whatever pushed this letter must have been bad news. He swiftly opened it.

Thankfully, it was not a warning of some sort. It was a personal letter, giving him a quick rundown of how their kingdom was faring: tense, but still not in complete chaos. His father was alive, but still as a shell of his formal self. She told Pierre to not worry about his health and focus on his 'studies'. (At least, that was the excuse given.)

She also asked Pierre about his own wellbeing, commenting on her pride in seeing him on television as an idol. She also wondered how Pierre was handling Japan, if he would prefer to relocate somewhere else.

Pierre replied, this time in clear, concise words of his familiar language:

_“Dear Mother,_

_Thank you very much for writing to me! I miss you very much! Sometimes, I miss being home with my family. I hope to come visit one day again, when things are peaceful once more._

_I love Japan, however! Everyone has been very nice and understanding to me. They have so many fun things!_

After going through a laundry list of thing he loved, he continued:

 

_I had a hard time at first, when I came here. Learning a new language is very difficult. But I have Minori and Kyoji helping me._

_For instance, recently, I learned 愛してる—it means ‘I love you’, but in a very special way. I did not know what it meant at first and could not understand. But now I understand! Because of Kyoji and Minori._

_They taught me about the special kind of love. That kisses on the lips are only for those types of people. And it means, spending a lot of time with that person, very closely. It is very similar to you and father; they say, it is part of what makes us a family. Though sometimes, I do not see them for a long time when they go to their dressing room, and I do not understand. I still have much to learn!_

_That’s why, I wish to stay here a little while longer. I want to be able to learn more, so I can help those who helped me. Then, I hope one day to help our kingdom as well! We could bring smiles back to everyone’s faces, working together! So I will work hard!_

_Sincerely,_

_Pierre”_

He signed the end with his idol signature, complete with frog scribble.

**Author's Note:**

> I apologize if certain sections sounded a bit weeby — in truth, idk how to really explain certain language barriers with strictly English words, so I hope it's not too cringing.


End file.
